The Samantha Clemens Show, Saturday mornings at 10 am EDT on AM1510 in Boston, streaming live at www.samanthaclemens.com.
This week:
Part 1: Commentary and interview with Bill Deresiewicz about the pathology of capitalism (interview begins at about 7:40) Listen now.
Part 2: Commentary about right-wing reaction to Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act. Listen now.
Are all capitalists bloodsucking vampire-like psychopaths who are slowly trying to destroy the economy for their own gain?
Of course not…but what’s wg with a little hyperbole to add to the political outrage (here’s looking at you FOX and MSNBC)?
We’ll be talking with essayist Bill Deresiewicz about the economy and those who want to wreck it for their own gain…
AND
Maybe Justice Roberts ain’t so bad after all…
Call 617 237 1234 and say what’s on your mind.
Part 1: Commentary on jobs 2012-05-05-samantha-clemens-p1-commentary-jobs.mp3
Part 2: Chuck Collins 2012-05-05-samantha-clemens-p2-chuck-collins-99to1.mp3
Part 3: Commentary on inequality 2012-05-05-samantha-clemens-p3-commentary-inequality.mp3
Have you been wondering about how wealth inequality is wrecking the world and what you can do about it?
Then you should join Samantha Clemens on The Samantha Clemens Show this Saturday at 10am as she welcomes Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is the author of the new book, “99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It.”
Join Samantha and Chuck as they discuss his new book, the future of the country, the Occupy movement, and how to fix our economy.
On the show:
First –
Paul Brandus, White House Bureau Chief and founder of the West Wing Report, will give us the latest about about the presidential race and the impact of the latest bad economic news on the campaigns. We’ll also touch on why Obama went to Colombia and whether he was successful.
Then –
Are women politicians in America oppressed or is American politics better left for the boys? The United States is currently tied for 79th in the world with liberal powerhouse Turkmenistan for percentage of women in national government. Who is number 1? Rwanda. Who’s number 3? Cuba.
To get a clearer picture of where American women stand in The Land of the Free, we’ll talk with Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President/CEO of She Should Run and Women’s Campaign Fund will join to discuss America’s dismal position in the world for women in politics.
Call in at 617 237 1234 to join the conversation.
Sam commentary: 2012-04-21-samantha-clemens-p1-commentary.mp3
Todd Wallack: 2012-04-21-samantha-clemens-p2-todd-wallack-liberty-mutual.mp3
Paul Dorf: 2012-04-21-samantha-clemens-p3-paul-dorf-exec-comp.mp3
Is a sleeping giant waking up??
”Citigroup’s shareholders recently took advantage of the new “say-on-pay” provisions of the Dodd-Frank law to vote DOWN CEO Vikram Pandit’s $15 million pay package.”
Woohoo…
And here in Boston, the Liberty Mutual CEO has been under fire for collecting $50 million A YEAR for his job…. When rates are set by the state! Is he really that good??
My question: Just how is it that the free market can’t get these wages DOWN instead of up in a down economy? Are there more of these guys on the streets – more supply of executive labor than demand? What’s going on?
Call in: 617 237 1234!
Audio coming soon…
Hope you can join us for The Samantha Clemens Show Saturday morning at 10 am EDT on AM1510 in Boston, streaming live at www.samanthaclemens.com.
Guest: Professor James Alan Fox, Northeastern University criminology professor AND Boston.com Community Voices blogger
Connecticut’s legislature has voted to abolish the death penalty in the Nutmeg state and George Zimmerman has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the Sunshine State….
But what are the ramifications?
Connecticut has only has one execution since 1976, will it make a difference? In the last few years a number of states have voted to abolish the penalty…will the trend continue?
Join Samantha on as she welcomes Professor James Alan Fox!
The two will discuss these legal topics and more.
Be sure to call the studio line to get your comments heard and your questions asked! The studio number is 617 237 1234!
On the Samantha Clemens Show, Saturday morning from 10 to 11am, Samantha welcomes Chris Mooney to talk about his new book “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny the Science — and Reality”
2012-04-17-samantha-clemens-chris-mooney.mp3
From Amazon:
Best selling author Chris Mooney uses cutting-edge research to explain the psychology behind why today’s Republicans reject reality—it’s just part of who they are.
From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy and much more. Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts? Science writer Chris Mooney explores brain scans, polls, and psychology experiments to explain why conservatives today believe more wrong things; appear more likely than Democrats to oppose new ideas and less likely to change their beliefs in the face of new facts; and sometimes respond to compelling evidence by doubling down on their current beliefs. Goes beyond the standard claims about ignorance or corporate malfeasance to discover the real, scientific reasons why Republicans reject the widely accepted findings of mainstream science, economics, and history—as well as many undeniable policy facts (e.g., there were no “death panels” in the health care bill). Explains that the political parties reflect personality traits and psychological needs—with Republicans more wedded to certainty, Democrats to novelty—and this is the root of our divide over reality. Written by the author of The Republican War on Science, which was the first and still the most influential book to look at conservative rejection of scientific evidence. But the rejection of science is just the beginning… Certain to spark discussion and debate, The Republican Brain also promises to add to the lengthy list of persuasive scientific findings that Republicans reject and deny.
From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy and much more. Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts?
Science writer Chris Mooney explores brain scans, polls, and psychology experiments to explain why conservatives today believe more wrong things; appear more likely than Democrats to oppose new ideas and less likely to change their beliefs in the face of new facts; and sometimes respond to compelling evidence by doubling down on their current beliefs.
Certain to spark discussion and debate, The Republican Brain also promises to add to the lengthy list of persuasive scientific findings that Republicans reject and deny.
2012-03-24-samantha-clemens-chris-faraone.mp3
Chris Faraone joined Samantha to talk about his new book “99 Nights with the 99%,” a compilation of Chris’ articles for The Boston Phoenix and other unpublished material he wrote as he traveled the country late last year from Occupation to Occupation.
The discussion ranged from the occupy movement to how down and dirty should liberals should get when arguing with conservatives to the Treyvon Martin shooting and ‘stand your ground’ laws in Florida and proposed bill here in Massachusetts.
Interesting conversation with an interesting guy…
First half hour:
Can’t we all get along? Can’t liberals persuade conservatives with facts, logic, the merit of our agreements? Can’t conservatives convince liberals of the superior morality of their position?
Well, according to Jonathan Haidt, psychologist at the University of Virginia and author of “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion,” we will never persuade each other because our believes are intuitive and irrational…
Joshua Rothman is columnist for the Boston Globe’s Sunday Ideas section who had a chance to catch up with Haidt on his book tour.
PLUS…
Second half hour:
New Hampshire State Rep Seth Cohn says he’ll introduce a bill to bar left-handed people from marrying each other.
In a tongue-in-cheek proposal to a gay marriage repeal bill, Rep. Cohn plans to offer the ban-on-lefty marriages amendment Wednesday, when the gay marriage repeal bill is debated. LOVE IT!
Seth will tell us all about it!
Photo: (Greg Klee/Globe Staff)
In case you missed the show:
Part 1: Samantha commentary on education 2012-03-10-samantha-clemens-p1.mp3
Part 2: James Burnett, Boston Globe 2012-03-10-samantha-clemens-p2-james-burnett-globe.mp3
Do American Schools need help? (yes)
Is college for snobs? (No)
Should all who want higher education have the opportunity to advance themselves? (yes)
Do Republicans want an educated populace? (Apparently not)
Join Samantha this Saturday, March 10, 2012 as she discusses the Republicans’ war on education.
“But what about people like Mr. Romney? Don’t they have a stake in America’s future economic success, which is endangered by the crusade against education? Maybe not as much as you think. “After all, over the past 30 years, there has been a stunning disconnect between huge income gains at the top and the struggles of ordinary workers. You can make the case that the self-interest of America’s elite is best served by making sure that this disconnect continues, which means keeping taxes on high incomes low at all costs, never mind the consequences in terms of poor infrastructure and an undertrained work force. “And if underfunding public education leaves many children of the less affluent shut out from upward mobility, well, did you really believe that stuff about creating equality of opportunity? “So whenever you hear Republicans say that they are the party of traditional values, bear in mind that they have actually made a radical break with America’s tradition of valuing education. And they have made this break because they believe that what you don’t know can’t hurt them. “ Ignorance Is Strength, Paul Krugman
“But what about people like Mr. Romney? Don’t they have a stake in America’s future economic success, which is endangered by the crusade against education? Maybe not as much as you think.
“After all, over the past 30 years, there has been a stunning disconnect between huge income gains at the top and the struggles of ordinary workers. You can make the case that the self-interest of America’s elite is best served by making sure that this disconnect continues, which means keeping taxes on high incomes low at all costs, never mind the consequences in terms of poor infrastructure and an undertrained work force.
“And if underfunding public education leaves many children of the less affluent shut out from upward mobility, well, did you really believe that stuff about creating equality of opportunity?
“So whenever you hear Republicans say that they are the party of traditional values, bear in mind that they have actually made a radical break with America’s tradition of valuing education. And they have made this break because they believe that what you don’t know can’t hurt them. “ Ignorance Is Strength, Paul Krugman
“Consider the fact that SAT scores (a big factor in college admissions) correlate closely with family wealth. The total average SAT score of students from families earning more than $100,000 per year is more than 100 points higher than for students in the income range of $50,000 to $60,000. Or consider that a mere 3 percent of students in the top 150 colleges, as defined by The Chronicle of Higher Education, come from families in the bottom income quartile of American society. Only a very dogmatic Social Darwinist would conclude from these facts that intelligence closely tracks how much money one’s parents make. A better explanation is that students from affluent families have many advantages — test-prep tutors, high schools with good college counseling, parents with college savvy and so on.” Colleges and Elitism, Andrew Delblanco
“What’s more, Mr. Santorum’s family background shows the profound value of education in lifting the disadvantaged into the middle class and beyond. The campaign likes to leave the impression that he grew up in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, but young Rick actually came of age in a home where the father earned a doctorate and worked as a clinical psychologist while the mother toiled outside the house as a well-credentialed administrative nurse; it was his immigrant grandfather who worked the coal mines.” Michael Medved: Meet the Republicans, Education Bashers
Samantha also welcomes James Burnett, writer for The Boston Globe. The two will discuss the Somerville Music Progam…a program that brings the wonders of music to low income children.
“Gee whiz! Poor kids learning how to play music – discipline, teamwork, and beauty – what’s not to love?” In era of cuts, students in Somerville play on – The Boston Globe
